Hello from Rome!
Rome is everything I expected it to be… hot, crowded, dusty, expansive and I love it! The architecture is beautiful and around every turn is an old Roman building of some sort. Our room was not ready when we arrived at Hotel Eden so we were escorted up to the hotel bar on the sixth floor for a drink and a lovely view of the city. It was a great way to begin out trip. Hotel Eden still follows some of the bygone customs like doormen in tuxedos wearing white gloves and bowler hats. My sister, Rosemary and I enjoyed a glass of iced tea accompanied by a tray of snacks that included huge green olives that were delicious.
Our first stop today took us on a walk through the northern part of Rome ending at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. It is possibly the oldest of over 80 churches in Rome dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was built in the 5th century. The first thing that you notice inside the ancient basilica is the beautiful coffered ceiling, Legend says that it is gilded with the first gold shipped back from the New World .
Our next stop was Trevi Fountain. There are so many fountains throughout the city. They are around every corner. Many of them are small and you see people filling water bottles and dampening hankerchiefs to try and beat the heat. So, to see another fountain didn’t seem particularly important on our list of things to do, until we rounded the corner and saw the mass of people surrounding the largest, most elaborate fountain I’ve every seen. I’m not sure if I was more overwhelmed by the number of people or the fountain. The fountain is massive, about as tall as a four story building. It is covered with many columns and figures, the central one representing Neptune or Oceanus. If you’re a film fan you can see Anita Ekberg visiting the fountain at night in Fellini’s classic, La Dolce Vita. Rose and I both had to follow the tradition of throwing a coin into the fountain ensuring our return to Rome some day. We both would also have liked to jump in the fountain to cool off.
Our last stop for the day was the Spanish Steps or Piazza di Spagna. It is a gathering place for many visitors and Romans alike and has been for several centuries.. It is one of the most famous places to visit in Rome consisting of a double staircase that is very beautiful. There was a group of teenagers from South Carolina, about 100 people, who were spread across the steps getting a photo taken. Rosie and I needed to cool off so we popped into a café for a cappacino and iced granita. Rose says that the coffee is great here. It’s strong like she likes it but not bitter.
We had a 45 minute ride by car to the port in Civitavecchia. It was a beautiful ride and arriving a couple hours after the allowed boarding time is not all bad. We were the only two people boarding the ship and it was very quick.
Our room is lovely, on the 5th floor with a small veranda. We took a walk around the ship to get the lay of the land and then headed to dinner. You have a choice on this cruise to be seated alone or to join others. We chose to join a table of six and had a great dinner with two other couples both from England. They all were veteran cruisers. There seem to be quite a few veteran cruisers here. Eric and Val were from outside London. Sheila and Chris lived in London. Chris made the conversation very interesting at dinner. He is a coroner. In the U.K. attorneys and doctors are appointed as coroners. Chris was an attorney and had some interesting stories about his appointment.
We dropped into bed and the sway of the ship had both Rose and I asleep in minutes.
Until tomorrow arrivaderici!
Mediterranean Evening, 36"x48", acrylic on canvas, $1200.
Helen's Sunflowers, oil on canvas, 20"x28", $495.
We pulled into port early this morning. Mahon is a city on the beautiful little island of Minorca off the coast of Spain. It looked different than other ports we’ve been to so far. It has a very long natural harbor, one of only a few natural harbors in the world. The port is lined with homes built into the hillside, many have their boats anchored just outside their homes. You walk up a long staircase to get to the town center. 
Next we stopped at a prehistoric sight, Torralba D’en Salord, to look at stone structures that are 3000 years old. They look like the stone constructions at Stonehenge. 
Our next stop was St. Peter’s Basilica. Michelangelo’s beautiful statue of the Pieta is one of first things you come across in a small chapel at the back of the church. The front of the chapel is covered in glass. The man who attacked the statue back in the 70’s spent two years in prison. The arm that he broke off and the faces that he chipped have been restored. Michelangelo made this masterpiece when he was only 23 years old. It is the only work that he signed. Supposedly he overheard people disputing who made it and he then decided he needed to add his signature.
After lunch we made stops at the Pantheon and the Coliseum. We headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and drive about 45 minutes to the port in Civitavecchia.
Indiana Sky, oil on canvas, 54"x42", $1800.
